INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE






              FURNITURE BRANDS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES ELECTION OF
                  JOHN R. JORDAN, JR. TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS


St. Louis, Missouri,  June 23, 2003 - Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN)
announced  today  that John R.  Jordan,  Jr.,  retired  Vice  Chairman  of Price
Waterhouse  (now  PricewaterhouseCoopers),  has been  elected  to the  Furniture
Brands International Board of Directors.

As Vice Chairman of Price Waterhouse, Mr. Jordan, age 64, served as World Leader
of the Audit and Business  Advisory  Services  practice,  a business unit of the
firm with 20,000 employees in some 150 countries.  In addition he led the firm's
strategic  planning process that culminated in a revamped worldwide strategy for
the  firm.  He served  as a member  of the  World  Board  and  World  Management
Committee and,  earlier in his career,  as the Managing Partner of the St. Louis
and  Central  Region  practices  of the  firm.  He was also a member of the U.S.
Management Committee and Policy Board.

After retirement in1998, Mr. Jordan became the first administrative  director of
Civic Progress, an organization of Chief Executive Officers from the largest St.
Louis  regional  companies  that has as its goal the  coordination  of the civic
initiatives of its members.  He currently serves as a business consultant and is
a  member  of the  faculty  of  Saint  Louis  University,  where  he  serves  as
Distinguished  Lecturer in the School of Business  and  Administration  teaching
strategy and business management in the MBA program.

W.G.  (Mickey)  Holliman,  Chairman,  President and Chief  Executive  Officer of
Furniture  Brands said,  "John Jordan has proven  himself as both a business and
community leader,  and we are very happy that he has agreed to join our Board of
Directors.  I  look  forward  to  working  with  John  and  I am  confident  his
contributions,  particularly  in the areas of financial  reporting and auditing,
will be significant."

Furniture   Brands   International   is  America's   largest  home   furnishings
manufacturer,   manufacturing  and  sourcing  its  products  under  six  of  the
best-known brand names in the industry - Broyhill, Lane, Thomasville,  Henredon,
Drexel  Heritage and  Maitland-Smith.  The company markets its products across a
broad  spectrum of price  categories  and  distributes  its products  through an
extensive system of independently owned national, regional and local retailers.